Red Cat, a provider of distributed data storage, analytics and services for the drone industry, has announced the beta release of its blockchain-based black box storage, analytics and services platform to make drones trackable and accountable.

Red Cat’s platform release includes several integrated systems that enable industry regulators to track and review drone flight data, insurance companies to insure drones with reliable third-party data, and pilots to ensure compliance with regulators. Red Cat’s black box flight recorder is the first distributed system with secure and encrypted third-party data that regulators and insurance companies can trust.

Both recreational and commercial drone usage will continue to grow globally. According to the WSJ, U.S. regulators expect the number of commercial drones and people flying them to quadruple by 2022. While drone use continues to expand, the regulations and monitoring are not keeping pace. Recently, U.S. lawmakers warned that any serious incidents between drones and commercial aircraft could put the future of the commercial drone industry at risk.

Red Cat’s proprietary platform was designed to address the growing need in this rapidly evolving ecosystem for a simple and secure data storage and analytics solution for regulators, insurance companies, pilots/enterprisers with drone fleets, and drone service companies. Additionally, with new and evolving regulations and new technologies, Red Cat provides services backed by expertise in drones, blockchain, data analytics, AI/ML and the regulatory environment at the center of the drone ecosystem.

“The next phase of the aerospace industry will include commercial aircraft, helicopters and many different kinds of drones in all shapes and sizes,” said Jeff Thompson, CEO of Red Cat. “For drones to have equitable access to airspace, the industry will require reliable and immutable data to ensure accountability and trackability. We developed Red Cat's black box analytics and storage to enable compliance for the drone industry and ensure safer skies for everyone.”

“As someone on the front line of the First Person View (FPV) freestyle drone community, I see a robust opportunity and market need for Red Cat’s innovative black box analytics platform to secure airspace and contribute to the continued growth of the entire emerging global drone industry,” said Chad Kapper, CEO of Rotor Riot, a company that develops and distributes high performance multirotor components and delivers educational and entertainment video content in order to grow the worldwide FPV community.

The new beta testing program has been developed based on feedback from top drone pilots and influencers and contains the most up-to-date technology in AI and blockchain in order to optimize drone performance.